Syndicado expands digital distribution footprints

Written by Michelle Clancy on 05 December 2017

Toronto-based Syndicado has inked digital distribution deals with two European companies, acquiring the rights to more than 70 hours of independent documentary and feature-film content for the US and multiple territories.

The agreement with Danish sales and distribution business LevelK will see Syndicado represent a catalogue of more than 20 arthouse and indie films, including Sex Drugs and Taxation, Lost in Africa, Cloudboy, Hunting Flies, In the Blood, A Summer in Copenhagen and My Dad is Baryshnikov. Several official TIFF selections are in the mix, as is rights to digitally distribute the eco-documentary The Last Ocean in the US. Syndicado will also acquire the digital rights for UK, Australasia and South Africa on many of the titles.

The company also cemented another deal for the US, UK and Canada with Russian production company Look Film for a varied slate of over 54 hours of content. The deal features 20 scripted feature and documentary films, plus unscripted history and reality series. Titles include The Soul of a Spy, Tank Biathlon and several WWII documentary films, studying key events in the conflict from the Russian perspective. These include 1944: The Battle for Crimea, Prague; May 1945 and Liberation.

“We're thrilled to bring a range of high-end programming to English-language markets around the world,” said Greg Rubidge, president of Syndicado. “From LevelK's top festival and arthouse features to the bizarre Russian tank reality show and historical docs from LookFilm, we continue to provide our VOD partners with content across genres and for more curated offerings.”

Syndicado recently announced sales of over 40 hours of both scripted and unscripted content to Screen Media Ventures’ Popcornflix service. The business has also launched Syndicado Film Sales, a dedicated film sales business based in Europe.